(Regarding updates: I believe if a day's update doesn't tie into the main plot or other elements crucial to it, it's as good as no update. So, the minimum requirement for daily updates is to advance character biographies or the main story a little. If I get into the zone, 20,000 words a day are possible, but I'll generally ensure at least 5,000 words daily.)
(Also, the author's update time might be late because, based on subsequent checks, a rough review process can't avoid typos. So, the author plans multiple reviews to prevent passages that make readers laugh and cry. Corrections are always welcome.)
The main text begins now ————————
Upon entering Dead End Hollow, Yao Ji's first glance locked onto the Dead End Butcher; it looked exactly like it did in the game's storyline!
Although the description stated it was tall, honestly, it was only the height of a small giant, far from the imagined size.
While this entity wasn't powerful in the game's storyline, acting as a boss monster easily defeated by beginners, this wasn't the game world.
Eihai's strength is divided into 10 levels based on metal element names, from weakest to strongest: Antimony (Sb), Zinc (Zn), Tin (Sn), Manganese (Mn), Cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni), Copper (Cu), Bismuth (Bi), Lead (Pb), and Mercury (Hg).
Additionally, there are special categories like "Infamous Eihai" (such as the Dead End Butcher) and distinctions between 'superior' and 'inferior' forms.
An existence like Niniwei represents the limit of what the Hollow Investigation Association can explore; their detectors usually pick up Aether fluctuations below level five, but encountering something like Niniwei caused them to explode.
The Dead End Butcher's nascent stage is classified as an inferior Infamous Eihai, while its second stage has already reached superior.
From a world-building perspective, the Dead End Butcher is definitely not some minor character. Engaging it in combat would, by rights, require at least an elite squad like Ouroboros.
If Cui Ji were to go alone, the outcome would most likely be disastrous.
At the same time, she also wanted to test her current strength level. Although she had managed to retreat unscathed from Hoshimi Miyabi previously, half of it was due to weapon skills, and the other half was entirely because Miss Miyabi didn't understand her and hadn't gone all out at first, perhaps even using less effort than during a serious sparring match.
But before she could finish her thoughts, she felt a powerful hand pull her into another spatial rift.
"Why are you looking at that nascent Dead End Butcher?" Yao Ji, deep in thought, was suddenly pulled back to reality by Cui Ji.
"I hope you can tie down that superior Infamous Eihai over there."
Stumbling out of the spatial rift and hearing Cui Ji's words, Yao Ji followed Cui Ji's arm and looked in another direction.
She felt like she saw a towering dark building, and only by raising her gaze did she realize it was a giant Dead End Butcher.
That Dead End Butcher's body was much larger than the one that looked exactly like the one in the storyline.
She roughly assessed it; it was at least four or five stories tall.
And it was already in its second stage, the Four-Armed Overlord mode.
The two hands on its back each held a yellow warning sign, equivalent to two of the Dead End Butcher's weapons from the game.
The two hands in their normal positions did not hold anything man-made, but rather a colossal axe shimmering with Aether energy.
Yao Ji: ...So, the Dead End Butcher I fought in the game really was just a newborn?
With her game worldview somewhat shattered, Yao Ji leaned her head towards Cui Ji's face, her two seemingly pointy, but actually incredibly fluffy, fox ears tickling the girl's face.
"We are currently deep within Dead End Hollow," Cui Ji seemed quite fond of the fluffy things; instead of avoiding them, she rubbed her head against them.
"Don't worry, this place is tens of thousands of miles from any residential areas, and there are various Eihai of Mn-class and above lurking around.
Without military support, the Peacekeepers wouldn't easily come here."
Upon hearing Cui Ji's words, Yao Ji's mind buzzed a little.
Even the most seasoned scholars were very unfamiliar with things outside the main plot, let alone someone of her caliber.
But buzzing mind or not, work still had to be done.
Shaking her head, she temporarily cleared the game's storyline from her thoughts, and, sticking to her original objective, Yao Ji expressionlessly walked into the Dead End Butcher's territory.
The Dead End Butcher turned its heavy and massive body, its red eyes meeting Yao Ji's blood-red gaze.
The behemoth sensed a somewhat intimidating aura from the tiny figure before it and did not act rashly.
Yao Ji characteristically plunged her scabbard into the ground, and a signature crimson aura radiated outwards from her as its center.
Demon Lord also broke free from the blade, looking at the behemoth before them with malicious eyes.
As the scabbard was plunged into the ground, the Dead End Butcher suddenly roared and charged at Yao Ji.
Its seemingly clumsy body moved with surprising swiftness, and in the blink of an eye, the giant axe was already descending towards Yao Ji.
Seeing this, Yao Ji immediately turned and drew her sword, the blue blade blocking the attack, completing a parry.
But the Dead End Butcher's continuous attacks did not cease.
The moment the giant axe was parried, the warning signs on its two back hands successively slammed down, each time deflected by Yao Ji's parry, but this also sent Yao Ji rebounding dozens of meters away.
During the pause between the two attacks, the Dead End Butcher changed its vertical chop with the giant axe to a horizontal sweep.
Even though Yao Ji had retreated more than ten meters, this heavy axe attack had an extremely wide range, and Yao Ji was almost perfectly within the arc of its blade.
This time, Yao Ji did not meet it head-on, but instead chose to jump 40 meters straight up, leaping behind the Dead End Butcher, dodging the horizontal sweep.
She rolled in place, and during the roll, Yao Ji unleashed three consecutive slashes, the massive blue crescent blades striking the Dead End Butcher directly.
The Dead End Butcher did not dodge or evade this attack, clearly intending to take it head-on.
The yellow warning signs on its two back hands crossed into an "X" shape, forming a defense with its arms.
As the blue blades simultaneously sliced through its arms, the Dead End Butcher let out a pained howl, and its two Aether-condensed arms fell to the ground.
But it was only for a moment; those two severed arms quickly regrew.
This time, what it held in its hands were no longer two yellow warning signs, but two giant swords condensed from Aether energy.
"?? This thing has a third stage?" Yao Ji's heart didn't ripple much at this sight.
From this moment, she understood that games are just games; real-world situations are far more complex than in games.
Yao Ji did not return her sword to its scabbard, but she also did not actively attack; instead, she waited to see what kind of attack the Dead End Butcher would unleash.
The Dead End Butcher's dozens of meters long greatswords on its back swung in a semicircle, creating an area attack.
At the same time, two spheres of Aether energy formed on either side of its head, emitting lasers that swept across Yao Ji's location.
This move involved the greatswords creating an area attack, with lasers forcing the enemy into the greatswords' attack range.
And indeed, to dodge the attacks, Yao Ji, maneuvering and shifting, was forced into the greatswords' attack range.
At first, Yao Ji didn't realize it until the pink blade was about to spin behind her head; a sense of crisis welled up, and she instantly drew her sword and turned, blocking the blow head-on.
Sparks flew from the two blades.
Yao Ji originally intended to use the parry's recoil to deflect the attack and then use the recoil to create distance, but she soon realized she was overthinking it; this area attack came with a suction effect.
Demon Lord, floating to her left, glanced at Yao Ji many times, but Yao Ji merely shook her head at Demon Lord.
But then, the other sword stopped its circling motion and swung downwards with its sharp tip, while the Aether lasers on both sides continued to restrict Yao Ji's movement.
The Dead End Butcher had already raised the giant energy battle-axe with both hands, clearly intending to deliver a final blow to its opponent.
Yao Ji, being pushed and forced to spin by the massive sword blade, caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of her eye.
She realized that hiding her strength at such a critical moment of life and death was meaningless.
A red glow flashed in Yao Ji's eyes, her blade enveloped in fire, imposing and fierce.
The girl tilted her blade and slashed downwards with force, and the final blue slash broke the entire pink sword body condensed from Aether energy.
Even so, the blue sword slash's momentum remained undiminished, only stopping after carving a small valley into the small hill behind.
As she forcefully broke the first sword formation, the other sword and axe simultaneously cleaved down.
Seeing this, Yao Ji immediately sheathed her sword.
She even closed her eyes, crouching low in a drawing-sword stance.
Just as the two divine weapons were about to fall on her head, Yao Ji's eyes snapped open.
From her perspective, the flow of all things in the world seemed to slow down once more.
What was only a second in the eyes of others felt like years to Yao Ji.
Within that single second, she rapidly unleashed layers of dense, impenetrable sword formations towards each enemy.
In an instant, Yao Ji understood how Hoshimi Miyabi's incredibly dense blade slashes were achieved.
However, due to Cui Ji's special requirements for preserving valuables, Yao Ji couldn't go for a killing blow, so she didn't unleash particularly dense sword blades.
When the perspective returned to that of an ordinary person, one could only see countless blue-tinged-red flashes of sword light rapidly streaking across the Dead End Butcher's body.
Approximately a few seconds later, Yao Ji, with her back to the Dead End Butcher, sheathed her sword at her waist.
The behemoth behind Yao Ji slowly toppled to the ground, its limbs rendered useless.
Although Aether energy was still repairing its damaged body, it would clearly take at least several tens of minutes to mend.
Cui Ji, who had been watching the show, immediately came over after seeing this scene, instructing Yao Ji to dig a pit in the ground, throw all the treasures into it, and then she herself collapsed a small building to cover the treasures.
"Mission accomplished, let's retreat!" Cui Ji looked at the Dead End Butcher, which hadn't fully recovered, grabbed Yao Ji's hand, and ran back.
With her other hand, she dragged various scrapped mech parts and jumped into another spatial rift.
How tragic!
Yao Ji, being pulled forward by Cui Ji, finally understood why Miss Miyabi was so dazed; an external brain was indeed useful.
Due to the severe injury of the giant Dead End Butcher, the entire Dead End Hollow actually shrunk in size.
However, since the kill achievement wasn't completed, the reduction in Dead End Hollow's range was very limited, only a few centimeters.
But this subtle change was still observed by a woman hiding behind a screen.
"It seems there are people active deep in the Hollow. Regardless, this person is a significant variable. We need to notify Bringer to prepare early."
A formulaic smile appeared on the girl's face.
"Also, tell Perlman to speed up his actions."